Our society has come to rely on electrochemical cells (such as batteries, fuel cells, and electrolytic cells) to perform a wide variety of functions. Batteries in particular are used to power a myriad of devices, including computers, cell phones, portable music players, lighting devices, as well as many other electronic components. Batteries are currently being developed to power automobiles and/or provide load-leveling capabilities for wind, solar, or other energy technologies. The “information age” increasingly demands portable energy sources that provide lighter weight, higher energy, longer discharge times, more “cycles”, and smaller customized designs. To achieve these advances, technologists continue to work to develop batteries with higher energy densities while still providing acceptable safety, power densities, cost, and other needed characteristics.
Batteries and other electrochemical cells come in a wide variety of different chemistries and structures. Each chemistry and/or structure has different advantages and disadvantages. For example, batteries that utilize dense cation transferring ceramic membranes as the primary electrolyte may advantageously have higher faradaic efficiencies (in some cases, close to 100 percent) and longer shelf lives (i.e., lower rates of self-discharge) than some other battery chemistries. In this regard, LiSICON (Lithium SuperIonic CONductor) is one type of ceramic material that is selective to lithium ions (i.e., conducts only lithium ions) and that can be useful as an electrolyte in a wide variety of electrochemical cells.
Despite the utility of ceramic membranes in electrochemical cells, some cells (such as batteries) that utilize dense ceramic membranes as the primary electrolyte may have some drawbacks. For example, some of these ceramic materials may be relatively poor ion conductors at room temperature. Additionally, some such ceramic materials may be relatively porous, which can lower their conductivity and allow for undesired leakage through the materials. Furthermore, some of these ceramic materials can have relatively poor phase purity, which can reduce conductivity, lead to cracking, catastrophic failure, and otherwise reduce the material's utility.
Thus, while ceramic materials are often used in electrochemical cells to selectively transportions, challenges still exist. Accordingly, it would be an improvement in the art to augment or even replace current materials and techniques with other materials and techniques.